Coroner rules plane was shot down by missile
TWO Newcastle United fans were unlawfully killed when flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine by pro-Russian separatists, a coroner has concluded.
John Alder, 63, and Liam Sweeney, 28, were on their way to New Zealand to watch the Magpies in a pre-season friendly. They were killed alongside 297 others when their aircraft was attacked while en route from Amsterdam to Malaysia on July 14, 2014.
A total of 10 of those on board were British. Yesterday, an inquest was held into the death of Mr Alder, Mr Sweeney and three others – Richard Mayne, 20, Glenn Thomas, 49, Ben Pocock, 20.
During a hearing, a coroner concluded MH17 was shot down by a Buk missile fired by pro-Russian separatists.
The inquest, which was held at the City Hall in Leicester, began with individual tributes to all five men.
The court heard how Mr Sweeney, from Newcastle, and Mr Alder, from Gateshead, were travelling to watch Newcastle United play in New Zealand.
The pair and Mr Mayne, from Leicester, Mr Thomas, from Blackpool, and Mr Pocock, from Bristol, all died from multiple injuries.
Professor Catherine Mason, Senior Coroner for Leicester, was told four individuals linked to a Donetsk-based Russian separatist group refused to attend a trial pending in The Hague, at which they are accused of responsibility for the attack.
Detective Chief Superintendent Dominic Murphy, the head of operations for counter-terrorism policing unit SO15, gave evidence to the inquest.
He described how a Dutch Safety Board Inquiry found a Buk missile system had downed MH17.
Mr Murphy told the hearing: “MH17 departed Amsterdam and had been flying for around three hours when it lost contact with air traffic control.”
Summarising the Dutch Safety Board’s inquiry, the senior officer added: “At that time a missile launching system was fired from a field in Ukraine. It actually detonated on the upper left side, in front of the cockpit of the aircraft. Fragments (of the missile) penetrated the left side of the cockpit... a pressure wave caused the fuselage to break up and caused the crash.
“That missile system appears to have been smuggled over the border into Ukraine from the Russian Federation on the 16th and 17th of July overnight.”
Flight MH17 was flying at around 33,000ft and was in a space that had not been subject to restrictions by any government agency.
The inquest, which was held without a jury, heard how four defendants being tried in their absence were linked to a pro-Russian armed group.
Recording verdicts of unlawful killing on all five men, Prof Mason said there had been no problems with the aircraft, which was flying in permitted air space.
She told family members who attended the inquest: “What we do know is that a Buk missile system was brought into eastern Ukraine and that a surfaceto-air missile was fired.”
Prof Mason added: “I am satisfied that MH17 was shot down by a Buk missile fired by pro-Russian separatists.
“Taking all of the evidence into account, an appropriate conclusion in relation to the deaths of Liam Sweeney, Richard Mayne, Glenn Thomas, John Alder and Ben Pocock is that they were unlawfully killed.”
And she told the victims’ families: “I am truly sorry that we meet today as a result of such a tragic and shocking incident. I am very sorry for your loss.”